Road To London 2016

I will be running my second ever marathon at London 2016 and will be following a 20 week training plan to ensure I give it my best shot. This blog will chart my journey both training and otherwise up to the big event.

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Week 15

As usual started with an easy few miles before taking the beginners group out.  this week after about a mile we congregated at the beginning of one of our time trial routes and had them all run 0.8 miles as fast as they could manage and give them all a time.  This was their first test and it was great to see all the smiles and shocked chatter afterwards when they realised how far they had come over the last 7 weeks.

On Tuesday was my steady run and I headed to club easy to do a few miles with another runner before going out with the club group to cover nearly 9 miles in total.

Thursday was supposed to be interval day but after a long day at work I decided to delay it a little, so ended up doing it on Friday afternoon as I finish work early.  The plan was to do an 8 mile run but split it in to 2 easy 4 in sub 31 mins and 2 cool down.  It started off OK with a nice gentle 2 miles but when it came to up the pace at mile 3 it was like trying to run through treacle and I found it difficult to pick up the pace and only managed an 8:50 for that first mile.  Fortunately my legs eventually came back and I finished the 4th mile in 7:20 and was only just outside my target time with 31:12 which wasn't bad considering the bad start.

Saturday was a double parkrun day.  The plan was to do a mile warm up and cool down but do 2 x park runs in the middle with a 3 minute rest between.  The target was to do each parkrun in sub 25:45 but I managed to do slightly better with a 24:48 first run and a 24:45 second.

Sunday was scheduled to be a long run but it is also Sport Relief Day.

I started off with a 15 mile run with someone from club and it was supposed to start with an easy 9:00 - 9:30 pace and slowly increase but we realised after a few miles we were doing sub 9′s and finished the 15 at an average pace of 8:38.  More importantly I think I may have solved my gel issue having switched to SIS Go gels and had no adverse effects today.

After a quick change it was in the car to run the Comic Relief Mile with my daughter.  This event meant quite a lot to me as it was the first event I ever run in 4 years ago and marked the start of my running journey.  I would never have thought it would have led me to where I am today - 5 weeks out and training to complete the London Marathon...  My daughter pushed me hard considering I had already ran today and I finished with a 7:35 mile with my daughter several seconds in front of me for a new PB :) 

[r2l2016]

Week 14 - A Close Call

Week 14 was to be a step back week with slightly reduced mileage after the efforts at Wimborne at the weekend.  So it started as usual with 3 miles with the beginners helping them round on their way to doing their first parkruns in a couple of weeks.

Tuesday was supposed to be a steady run after work but my daughter had her GCSE Dance recital in the evening so I got home and got ready to go and watch her perform.  Unfortunately in my rush to get changed out of my cycling kit I lost my balance in the bathroom and managed to fall full force in to the sink with my knee.  I can say the pain was instant and intense as I had caught it just below the knee cap.  I certainly had a few choice words to utter as I hopped around the bathroom holding my leg.

I was going to schedule in my Tuesday run on Wednesday morning but as my knee was very bruised and stiff I decided that caution was required and let it rest for the day.

On Thursday I was scheduled to a big interval session of 2 miles warm up 16 x 400m reps with a 60 seconds recovery and end with a 2 mile cool down.

However my knee still felt a little off but sufficiently OK to give it a test.  So I decided to do my Tuesday steady run instead and covered 8 miles without any adverse reaction which was good.

Saturday was the usual 1 mile warm up followed by parkrun and then a 1 mile cool down.  The plan was to do a sub 25 minute parkrun and I tentatively started still conscious of the bruising on my knee.  It was, however, largely painless at this point so I was confident it would be OK.  All went fine and I finished with a 24:48 final time and no adverse effects from the knee.

Sundays long run was to be a 12 mile run at 9:30 pace however on heading out I followed a different route and ended up doing just over 13 miles at an average pace of 9:08 and thankfully knee scare averted.  Must remember to be more careful in future.  I cannot afford to pick up any silly injuries now.

Weekly miles:

Cycling - 72 miles

Running - 30 miles

[r2l2016]

Week 13

This week was a slightly gentler week as it was a lead in to my first big test.  I was going to run the Wimborne 20 mile race on Sunday so had to be ready for it.

Monday started with just an easy few miles taking the beginners on their weekly training run.

Tuesday was an 8+ mile run with club around town.

Thursdays intervals were a 2 mile warm up followed by 4 x 1 mile reps with a 90 second recovery and finish with a 2 mile cool down.  Went out and felt like it wasn't going to happen but the times for the 1 mile reps were encouraging.

 1 -  7:38, 2-7:15, 3-7:31, 4-7:36

Saturday was parkrun day and was a sub 30 minute effort sandwiched between a 2 mile warm up and 2 mile cool down.

On Sunday I awoke early and after a light breakfast of porridge and banana I drove down to Wimborne to line up with the others for this 20 mile event.  The race was a 3 lap event and my target was to aim for sub 3 hours.  The weather was perfect and we headed out for the first lap.  It was then I realised that the course a little hillier than anticipated .  There were several climbs on the lap and although not excessively long they were steep enough to sap the energy and fatigue the legs, especially after three laps.  On the last lap I certainly started to feel the hills and was pleased to reach the top of the last one and kick in for the last mile which was predominantly down hill to the finish.

I finished the event with a time of 2:56:12 and was extremely happy with this considering the course wasn't exactly flat with just over 1300ft of elevation over the 20 miles.

So first big test was completed and passed.  Just need to keep focussed for the last few weeks and all looks positive.

Weekly mileage:

Cycling - 71 miles

Running - 46 miles

[r2l2016]

Week 12

Monday started as usual with a gentle recovery run around the block before heading to club to take our group of beginners out on their latest training run around town.

Tuesdays run was a steady 8+ mile run at club. 

Thursday was interval day and the plan was for 2 Mile Warm Up, Followed by 1 Mile effort, 60 seconds rest, 0.5 mile effort, 2 minutes rest (Repeat 4 x), followed by 2 mile Cool down.

Things didn't quite go to plan with some issues needed to work through during the set but finished with the following stats.    

1. -  7:41 - 4:10 ; 2 - 7:46 - 5:13 ; 3 - 7:28 - 3:58 ; 4 -  7:20 - 3:37

Most problems were on the second set but fortunately got through them to have a strong finish.

Missed parkrun on Saturday as daughter was attending a youth coach academy day and I took her over there and wouldn't make it bake in time.  Went out later though and ran the parkrun course solo.  The plan was to run the 5k course without looking at my watch and just go for it.  Running the parkrun course solo is a little different.  The start is obviously a lot less congested and you do not have to worry about getting in others way or vice versa.  However, there is also no one you can target and run with to keep your pace on target.  However, at the end I was quite happy with my time of 23:29 which is my 4th fastest time ever around this course which I have attempted over 150 times.  I followed this up with several miles steady for a total of 9+ miles.

Sundays long run was a 18+ mile effort.  It was an early start leaving home at 6:30 in the morning.  The plan was to do 10 miles easy followed by 10K at half marathon pace and finish with a few cool down miles.  Didn't quite manage half marathon pace for the whole 10K but did finish with a 7:57 for the last mile before cool down.  Had an equipment malfunction after about 4/5 miles though when I got a stone in my trainer which forced me to stop to get it out.

Total weekly miles:

Cycling - 71 miles

Running - 44 miles

[r2l2016]

Week 11

Monday started with a gentle recovery run in the evening after work followed by a further few miles with our current beginners group who are doing a great job progressing towards their first attempt at a 5k.

Tuesday was a steady 8+ mile run around town

On Thursday it was intervals and this week the plan was to do 2 Mile Warm Up, followed by 3 x 2 mile efforts with 2-3 minutes rest between reps, followed by a 2 mile cool down all of this was to be done on the treadmill and with a two mile target of 14:30  per 2 mile rep.  At the end each of the three reps were quicker than target and progressively better.  1 - 14:20, 2 - 14:01, 3 - 13:23.  Pretty pleased with that and better than the similar set a few weeks ago.

On Saturday I volunteered at parkrun in the morning and ended up as the timekeeper.  It was nice to cheer everyone on for a change and see everyone as the headed into the finish funnel.  After parkrun I headed out for an 8.5 mile training run around part of a local half marathon route with another runner from club.  

Sundays long run this week was 14 miles following the route of another local half marathon.  Ran it with a group of others also in training for various other marathons including London, Manchester and Edinburgh.

Weekly totals:

Cycling - 71 miles

Running - 46 miles

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Go for it Sunday 😀🏃🏼. On my way to new 10 mile PB.

[r2l2016]

Enjoying a post PB race smoothie of Advocado, blueberry, grape, almond and almonds

[r2l2016]

Week 10 - Finishing on a high

Sunday saw me entered into my first road race of 2016 and this would be a first test of all my training over the last 10 weeks. The event was the Wiltshire 10, a 10 mile race which was also this year the South West Inter-counties road running championship. It was a sell out field as you can imagine with 500 runners on the start list. The weather was perfect with clear skies and hardly any wind when we arrived. My daughter headed off to join the marshalling team and was going to be stationed at the water point. I however, got myself ready and having dropped my bag off went for a gentle mile warm up before heading to the start line ready for the off. Before long we were heading up the road on the start of the 10 mile course. My target time was to go sub 1:18 which at the outset I believed was going to be close but I was going to give it my best shot and I was therefore a little surprised that after the first mile I had been averaging 7:14. Somewhat faster than intended. I soon settled into a steady pace a resisted the urge to look at my watch but concentrated on my breathing and form. The course is not the flattest of courses and includes some nice inclines to get the heart rate up but also so good downhill sections to get your pace back up. At around 6 miles is the worst of the hills and it was at this point self doubt started to creep in as my pace dropped off pushing for the top.

 Fortunately it was shortly after this point the water station was positioned and the sight of my daughter handing me water and shouting encouragement spurred me on. It was also just after this point I was joined by another runner who was pushing for a good time also. We seemed to run off of each other until the finish and gave each other a tear get and incentive to keep pushing. Before long the we were turning in along the river and it was just a short climb up a footpath to the finish line. I had finished in an official time of 1:17:19 a new Personal best and left me elated for the rest of the day. 

As a momento of the event everyone got an aptly shaped medal considering it was Valentine's Day. 

There were a few other club members around the finish so a few of us then headed off for a gentle 3 miles cool down run to complete the plan for the day. So halfway through the training plan everything is on track with my first PB of the year in the bag. In 2 weeks time we go for a parkrun best and then a week later it's my first 20 mile event which I am looking forward to. 

 Running miles - 37 miles Cycling miles - 73 miles Total miles - 110 miles

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10 mile road race today .... Weather looks good :)

[r2l2016]

Week 10 - Half Way

Week 10 will see me half way through the training plan on my way to running the London Marathon this year.

This week I have booked my accommodation and travel arrangements for the big weekend :) 

This weeks training was going to start with a gentle run out leading our beginners on Monday night.  However the adverse weather and very high winds caused the club to take a very rare decision to actually cancel a club training run on the grounds of safety.

Instead I took to the treadmill and did a 5 mile run in 45:31

Tuesday I went to club and ran with the 9-10 min/mile group and covered 5 miles.  Afterwards was our club social and we started with a demonstration session of yoga which was a little different but very enjoyable.  Following this we had a brief talk about nutribullets and smoothies, which suggestions to good recovery recipes for runners.

Wednesday was an easy day up at the track helping to coach the younger members of the club as usual.

Thursday was supposed to be intervals but once again work got in the way and time got away from me.  Fortunately, I did manage to get the session done on Friday instead.  The session started with a 1.5 mile warm up and then 6 reps of 0.5 miles at target half marathon PB pace with a 90 second recovery.  After it was a 1.5 mile cool down run home.  The session went to plan and against a planned rep time of 3:49 I managed each in - 3:44, 3:38, 3:42, 3:48, 3:39, 3:30.

Saturday was a gentle run down to parkrun and the plan was to run a sub 29 minute run.  I finished a bit under that in 27:29 and finished with an easy run home with 4 20 second strides.

So far this week has seen a slight reduction in effort and mileage over recent weeks but there is a reason for this as Sunday will be my first trial for the training as I am entered into a local 10 mile road race.  Hopefully I can set a good time as long as the weather behaves but thats a story for tomorrow :)

[r2l2016]

Week 9 - A little late

Been a bit lax in updating lately.  It has been absolutely manic trying to keep everything going, what with work, training and family it sometimes gets difficult to find the time to do other things.

Anyway a brief catch up on my training for week 9 :)

Mondays run was a 2 stage affair.  Firstly I went out with our new beginners group and did a gentle 2 miles with them.  Afterwards I dropped my daughter home as she was feeling a little run down and then went for a slightly quicker 2 mile run around the block.

On Tuesday I tackled my hilly route for the third time since starting on this training run.  This time the task was to try to keep the pace even.  I managed to complete the 7.7mile course 2 minutes faster than previously in 1:03:58.

Wednesday was a rest day helping coach the juniors up at track.

Thursday was supposed to be interval day but it was also my daughters parents evening and having been held up at work I only just made it home in time to get changed to go straight back out again.

I was going to revisit the intervals on Friday but I had to go out in the afternoon to certify a course measurement.  So I ended up doing a few extra kilometres on the bike instead and the course was quite hilly.

Saturday was my usual parkrun plus warm up and cool down.  This week it was a 2 mile warm up a sub 27 minute parkrun followed by a 2 mile cool down.  This was accomplished :) It was also my 150 parkrun which got me a mention in the pre-run brief as well.  Only 100 more til the next milestone:) 

Finally on Sunday was my long run.  This was to be a 18 mile run at constant pace.  The weather was a little changeable on the day and I was glad to not be running alone as a friend also marathon training had joined me today for the route.  We ended up covering 18.44 miles in 2:56:02 and more importantly managed to keep a very constant pace throughout.

At the end of a hectic week I had covered a reasonable mileage:

Cycling - 78 miles

Running - 37 miles 

[r2l2016]

Post run smoothie 😋 Banana, blueberry and pear with Soy milk 🍐🍌🍇😋

[r2l2016]

Week 8 - Weekend Runs

Saturday morning was the usual routine of parkrun and I set off as usual for my 1 mile warm up run down to the park and meet up with the 200+ other runners who make the Saturday morning 5k a regular, healthy habit :) 

This Saturday I had on my training plan to run the parkrun in a target time of 25:45, an average pace of 8:18.  However, after a short 3 minute rest I then had to repeat the run for a double back to back parkrun.

The start as usual was very congested and just before the off my daughter surprised me by turning up just in time for the off.  When we started many of us were running to the side of the path in the mud.  

This made the start a bit of a slow affair until things thinned out a bit and a steady pace could be maintained.  Fortunately all of the major puddles from last week had been dealt with so the going was reasonably clear around the course.

On the second lap I caught and passed the 26 minute pacer and went on to finish the first leg in a time of 25:16. 

The finish is a bit of a way from the start and as I only had 3 minutes to get there I only had time to collect my finish token and gently jog round to the start line to do it all again.  I just about made it :) 

The second 5k was made a little easier due to the reduced number of runners around the park which made the going a little easier.  This made it possible for me to push on each mile and finish with an improved time of 24:45.

After the end of the run it was time to help out at our monthly junior 2k event we organise.  This is a free event organised for 7-U15′s and a shorter 300m Dash event for U7′s.  These events regularly see over 60 juniors turn up to participate in these runs and we are lucky to have a fantastic team of volunteers to help manage and run them.

As it was the first event of the year we look back at the successes of last year and gather at the parks cafe to do a review and award trophies and certificates to celebrate the progress many of the regular juniors have made over the year.  I also caught up with my daughter who had just found out she had managed to run a new CPB for this parkrun by over a minute.  This was a massive surprise to her as she felt she was taking it easy but she has been training well recently and has been a while since trying this course.  After the awards we both ran the mile home together.

On Sunday it was scheduled to be my long run.  I was to do 16 miles with 8 miles out at a target pace of 9:30-10:00 and then the next 8 miles at target race pace of around 9:00.  As I set of the weather had taken a turn for the worse and the wind and rain had started.  So I was pleased the pace was steady to begin with.  I made my way around my planned route and saw several other club members along the way.  As I headed on to the canal to run a section along the towpath I turned into the wind which made things a little harder.  This was then made harder by the fact I had reached 8 miles and it was time to up the pace.  Things went quite well but the last mile was a little tough heading into a strong headwind and I was glad to reach 16 miles.  I was still a mile from home though so I used this as a cool down at a very slow pace.

When I checked my mile splits for the run I was very pleased to see that I had achieved and exceeded my targets, especially for the second 8 miles.

After a positive weeks training I finished with the following mileage totals:

Cycling - 71 miles

Running - 48 miles

Total - 119 miles

[r2l2016]

[r2l2016]

A decision.

On Friday I finally made a decision.  I had been contemplating using my running the London marathon to raise funds for a worthwhile charity.  Once the decision was made to do so the charity I chose was an easy one and one I have raised funds for in the past.

In 2013 myself and a friend raised over £4000 for them by climbing Mount Toubkal in Morocco. 

Then in 2014 I raised several hundred pounds by running the Bath Half marathon for them.  As a local charity it seems fitting to support them for all the fantastic work they do every day and even though they regular save lives and make a massive difference they receive no direct funding and rely solely on charitable donations to keep going.  

The charity I have chosen for this event is.... Wiltshire Air Ambulance.

If you would like to support me and this fantastic cause then head over to my Just giving page any donations small or large will make a difference and keep them flying and saving lives longer.  Thanks.

https://www.justgiving.com/Ian-IsaacsVMLM2016

[r2l2016]

Week 8 - Intervals

On Thursday my daughter had to go to a seminar as she is part of the Youth Coach Academy and this meant I would drive her to the venues few towns over. This would cut into my training time usually but as her seminar was scheduled for two hours it meant if I dropped her off and ran from there I would be finished and cooled down before she was. So after I dropped her off I locked up the car and went for my 2 mile warm up run. I had checked on mapometer a potential route and set off in that direction, however after about 10 minutes the route was clearly unsuitable. There was practically no footpath and zero street lighting making it pitch black. I therefore turned back and headed for the well lit residential streets. My route now unknown I just ran following the lights and footpaths trying to keep my bearings so I could find my way back to pick up my daughter when I finished. My plan was, after a 2 mile warm up, 1 mile effort - 2 minutes rest - 0.5 mile effort - 1 minute rest - 0.25 mile effort - 2 minutes rest, and repeat 3 times. Then finish with a 2 mile cool down. Well the route was a little random and saw me running down cul-de-sacs and dead ends but I did not get lost. Towards the end of the run the wind did pick up a little which added an extra dimension and the second mile effort was slightly uphill but it was all good 😀🏃🏼👍💪. The rough targets for this session were: 1 mile efforts - 7:38 0.5 mile efforts - 3:41 0.25 mile efforts - 1:49 At the end up I had managed to achieve: 1 mile - 7:37, 7:31, 7:42 0.5 mile - 3:41, 3:37, 3:43 0.25 mile - 1:41, 1:45, 1:38 Pretty pleasing results considering I didn't know where I was going half the time. As I started my 2 mile cool down I headed in the general direction of where I had left the car and where my daughter was. Fortunately I found it without too much trouble and arrived with quarter of an hour to spare which gave me plenty of time for a good stretch 😃

[r2l2016]